eResearch: May 3, 2021 – Last week, Quantum Numbers Corp. (TSXV:QNC | OTC:QNCCF | FSE:34Q) (www.quantumnumberscorp.com) announced it received a third-party valuation of its patented intellectual property portfolio that it developed around Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) technology.
Quantum is a developer of next-generation encryption security solutions based on quantum technologies and targets the Financial industry, Defense and Government organizations, Mobile and Internet communications, and the Healthcare industry.
Inside Quantum Technology Research (IQT Research) (www.insidequantumtechnology.com) is an independent firm that specializes in the strategic information and analysis needs of the emerging quantum technology sector. IQT Research performed an analysis, taking in multiple factors, including potential market sizes and expected margins, and estimated Quantum’s technology portfolio could be worth between $1.58 billion and $3.44 billion, with a mean value of $2.5 billion.
In the short term, even capturing only 1% of the market opportunity would translate into $25 million of revenue for Quantum, currently trading at C$0.23 with a Market Cap of only C$22.9 million.
The Importance of QRNG Technology
Privacy and security are ruled by encryption.
Encryption is the process of encoding information or a message so that only authorized parties can access or read it.
Current computer encryption is based on mathematical theory and computer science practice, and most use public-key encryption (PKE). With this method, to send a secure message online, the data is encrypted by a public key and decrypted with a private key that is unique to a user.
Traditional computers would take billions of years to crack the encryption, however, a quantum computer could break the public-key cryptography in a matter of hours.
Quantum computers use quantum phenomena to perform computations and are able to solve certain problems significantly faster than traditional computers. Theorized in the 1980s, large tech companies, including IBM, Google, and Intel, have all built quantum computer chips and recently demonstrated the potential processing power and speed of these new computers.
As part of President Joe Biden’s recently unveiled $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan”, $180 billion is dedicated to “critical technologies” that included quantum computers.
With the eventuality of quantum computers, security needs to shift to the “post-quantum” computer era and implement quantum-based security, such as quantum-key distribution (QKD), which uses QRNG technology to secure data and networks to make them virtually unhackable.
QKD and Quantum’s QRNG Technology
QKD encryption is similar to the traditional PKE method except the cryptographic protocol uses quantum mechanics to produce the security keys using the QRNG technology.
A QRNG device produces random numbers to create the keys used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
Quantum has developed a cryptographic QRNG solution based on electron quantum tunneling that, according to the company, guarantees true randomness. Randomness is a vitally important feature to ensure that an adversary can’t predict the inputs to the encryption algorithm and hack the keys.
According to Quantum’s testing, its QRNG solution has the capacity to deliver more than one gigabit per second (1 GB/s) of full-entropy random numbers and the technology is flexible enough to be embedded in a portable USB-type key or a microprocessor chip.
As part of the commercialization efforts and to protect its intellectual property, Quantum has received four core patents in the U.S., 2 patents in Europe, and 2 patents pending in 11 other countries, including Canada.
Technology-led Company
Quantum’s technology is based on extensive research by the Physics Department of Sherbrooke University in Canada and led by Bertrand Reulet, Quantum’s Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Reulet is the Canada Research Chair in Quantum Microwave Radiation, recognized as a world leader in quantum research and non-Gaussian noise, and has published more than 140 research papers on the subject.
In January, the Company announced the appointment of Francis Bellido as Chief Executive Officer with a focus on developing and commercializing the technology. Quantum’s goal is to become a market leader in QNRG technologies.
To capture near-term market opportunities by getting the technology to customers and partners as quickly as possible, Quantum is fast-tracking its go-to-market strategy and shifting its focus to hardware device components from microprocessor chip (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor – “CMOS”) implementations.
The Company mentioned the development of a portable USB-type key QRNG device in its latest MD&A and recently commented that it anticipates product availability a full year ahead of its previously planned commercialization target date.
Enterprises are Spending Billions on Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is currently an estimated $200 billion market and growing annually.
According to a recent market report by Allied Market Research, the cybersecurity market size is projected to reach $304.9 billion by 2027, growing at over 9% annually. In its “Cyber Security Market Report”, Global Market Insights estimates the market to reach more than $400 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 15%. Both studies agree, the market is large and continues to grow.
The outbreak of COVID-19 had a positive impact on the growth of the cybersecurity market as employees were sent home and companies scrambled to enable secure access to the corporate information infrastructure.
Moreover, over the past year, intrusion attacks on the networks of large organizations have increased, which creates the need to strengthen organizational security, thus increasing the cybersecurity market growth.
Organizations across all sectors now rank cybersecurity as a top priority in a post-pandemic world as a distributed workforce will likely become the new normal.
Quantum’s Market Focus
Quantum believes its upcoming “plug and play” hardware solutions are a perfect fit for the blockchain and bitcoin industries, and data centres.
From its market research, the Company also perceives a fit with the Healthcare industry and plans to target the medical devices and healthcare service sectors.
Quantum’s technology has applications in other sectors that rely on stringent security including the Financial Services and Gaming industry, Communication and Classified Government Networks, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and Cloud-Based IT Security Infrastructures.
Final Thoughts
In January, Quantum completed a C$2.0 million equity financing to solidify its treasury in order to accelerate the development of its patented QRNG technology and focus on the development of a portable USB-type key QRNG device.
With its financing complete, the Company is well-positioned with funds for the next year to meet its current obligations and prepare to commercialize its technology.
With a billion-dollar market for its technology but a Market Cap of only C$22.9 million, Quantum is a company to watch in the quantum security industry.
FIGURE 1: QNG2 – Quantum Random Number Generator Implemented on a Computer Chip
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